


Ironically, Spiders

by Farashe



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fear, Spiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-16 23:05:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3506105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farashe/pseuds/Farashe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen must be brave enough to protect the Inquisitor from her fear of spiders.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ironically, Spiders

The shriek surprised Cullen, causing him to drop the book he’d been reading idly in bed while he waited for Myrlana to wake beside him. He’d known that he had other work to do this morning, but it was the Inquisitor’s first morning back in Skyhold after her latest excursion so he felt entitled to some time with her.

“Get it off! Get it off! Get it OFF!!!” Myrlana was whispering fiercely now as she scooted even closer to Cullen.

He looked at her face and saw her eyes were open. Not a nightmare then. “Myrlana? What’s wrong?”

“Spider,” she whispered. Her back was pressed firmly to his side so hard that he had been pushed all the way to the edge of the bed. Her eyes were wide as she stared fixedly toward a spot on the sheets.

Cullen smiled gently. A spider? Such a little thing for the Inquisitor to be afraid of. She faced down dragons and ancient magisters, but a spider sent her scrambling away. He leaned over her body to get a look at the fearsome beast, and sure enough at the edge of the pillow Myrlana had just vacated was indeed a spider, a good sized one to be sure but not dangerous. Cullen swept his hand across the pillow and brushed it away, off the bed.

“There love,” he said unable to keep the smile out of his voice though he tried to sound grave. “It’s gone.”

Myrlana turned over and burrowed herself against him, her face pressed firmly into his chest. “It’s not,” she murmured, and he could feel the movement of her lips against his skin. Normally he would find that pleasantly distracting, but she had begun to tremble so he pushed his erotic thoughts away and put his arms around her, holding her gently. “It’s still in the room, Cullen,” she sobbed against him.

“Shh, it’s alright,” he told her, rubbing slow circles on her back. He had thought she just didn’t like spiders, but she was truly afraid. “It can’t hurt you, Myrlana. I won’t let it,” he told her seriously.

She nodded slightly, but she stayed there in his arms for several more minutes. She finally pulled away slightly and looked up into his eyes. He could still see fear there though it was a bit calmer now. Her face was also slightly flushed with embarrassment.

“I know it’s silly,” she said looking away slightly. “I’ve never liked spiders, but I wasn’t _afraid_ of them, not until…” she shuddered violently and swallowed. She looked into his eyes again for a long moment as if drawing strength. “Not until the Conclave. And then, when I was in the Fade at Adamant…” She closed her eyes again and pressed her face against him once more.

Cullen no longer felt any desire to smile at her phobia. Now he just felt an overwhelming desire to protect the woman in his arms from her fears. She would protect all of Thedas from those dragons and ancient magisters out there, and he would protect her from the spiders that lurked in her nightmares. It was an unequal bargain, but it was the best he could do.

When she had relaxed, he slowly disentangled himself from her and got out of the bed, then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Stay here, my love. I will find and slay that spider for you.”

“My hero,” she said with a grateful smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Just something short and sweet I was thinking about. Considering that the Nightmare's little minions appeared as spiders to the Inquisitor, that must mean she's afraid of spiders, right? And I feel like after everything she's been through in the Fade, she's probably REALLY afraid of spiders, and that kind of fear is irrational and embarrassing (I know, I have a terrible phobia of roosters, seriously). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!


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